Raposa

I am glad your vacation went well for you AND your birds I took a 4 1/2 day trip over Memorial Day weekend, worried about how Jenna would do for weeks ahead of time, and she did just fine. Of course, my 84 year old mom was in the house with her, and a friend came and stayed at night to make sure my mom and all the critters were ok ~smiles~

Thank you all for your kind words. My mom will probably get out of ICU today and hopefully Jenna will have her friend back by this weekend!

I just LOVE the Ziva conversations!!! My mom has been in the hospital this week, and I think Jenna has been missing her company. My mom always says that Jenna is her friend. This morning Jenna looked me in the eye and asked "Are YOU my friend?"

I can relate to both the positives and the negatives that people have posted, although the negatives are a drop in the bucket compared to the joy I get from living with Jenna. However, coming up with creative ideas for toys and food for her, figuring out how to get her cared for if I ever need to be away (which is very rare), worrying that I am not giving her all the attention she needs, trying to keep her cage as clean as it needs to be - all of those are real, too. Being able to relax and put my feet up when I get home - well, I do that, but Jenna is with me when I do. Naps are out, she has too much to tell me. Her words, sounds, conversations, mumblings all make me smile. She is funny, smart, and endlessly entertaining, and I would not change a tiny pin feather. She's my girl, and I adore her. Although she tells me that I am HER girl ~grin~

Dave gave you excellent advice. I think that people tend to buy into the "greys are one person birds" too quickly, and because we expect it to happen, it does. They have preferences, and they have a right to ~smiles~ but that does not mean they can't have good relationships with other family members or close friends. Don't give up!

Ziva is such a smart and funny bird!!! I guess it doesn't really matter that he is a HE instead of a SHE, and he won't care if you change his name or not . . . Ziva is not exactly a name anybody would know, so you could just keep it . . . it will be a while before you stop calling him "she" though, I bet! hehehehe Hope your head is better

Oh ConnieLu, I am so sorry to hear about this. I know how awful it feels to lose your bird, and my heart aches for you.

Isn't it fun to bring the babies home??? I am so sorry Alex was clipped before he had a chance to fledge, but I bet you will make it up to him

Aww, I envy all of you with really cuddly birds ~smile~ Jenna allows a short time of cuddling but then she is DONE

What a blessing that you were near by!!! I am so glad it worked out well

~smiles at Partner316~ It is fun to have bird pals to visit, isn't it? Max, the blue and gold I mentioned before, is very much not for sale; they adore him. He has an interesting story. When the store owners bought the pet store from the prior owner, Max ame with the store. He's about 27 years old or so. And this past year, the store was broken into and Max was stolen. The theft was caught on film but they did not catch the thief's face. Max was missing for 3 months, and they thought he was gone for good, and then they got a "tip" that someone thought they had seen him. There had been many of these "tips" over the past few months and they did not want to get their hopes up, but it turned out that it WAS Max! MUCH skinnier (he'd been kept in a cage with a parakeet and fed only seed for 3 months) but definitely still Max. He was back to his assertive, ruler of the roost self within an hour of returning home to the petshop, and quickly recovered his weight. He is a great big silly clown of a bird and I think he is wonderful, and I am SO happy they got him back!!!

What a sweet picture!!! Jenna hardly ever does that ~smiles~

I am looking forward to reading what other people have to say on this. Jenna was NOT a snuggler at all when she first came home. She is much more cuddly now, but even now we don't spend a lot of time snuggling. A quick scritch, a hug, and a kiss on the head when I pick her up or put her back in her cage are generally it, except sometimes right after her shower or right before bed. My vet had told me not to be overly cuddly with her because it is not normal bird behavior and could cause problems later, has anybody else had that kind of advice? I do wonder about the biting as time goes on; I hope it will never be a problem.

I am sorry you had to rehome Rico, but I am sure you made the right decision for your family and hopefully for Rico as well I am a bit puzzled about the idea of needing to lock up either your dog or your bird all day because of some other creature . . . My dogs spend time outdoors, which is a good time for the bird to be out. And I have a ferret who is NEVER allowed out of his cage in the same room as the bird, but that does not mean that they both can't have plenty of out of cage time. Anyway, I guess everybody works these things out the best way they can, and I congratulate you for taking care to make sure Rico has a good home

I guess most people are not as obsessed as we are with our amazingly gorgeous and brilliant feathered companions ~chuckle~

That is very cool, and Giz looks like one happy bird!!!

Yay for Gil!!! It sounds like things are going REALLY well, that is great news!

I sure hope there is nothing seriously wrong with Ziva, whether Ziva is a he or a she!!! Ziva is too much of a treasure to have something wrong . . . ~frets~

There is a small local pet shop that I go to frequently, if only to visit their HUGE blue and gold macaw, who has taken a liking to me :-) He is treated very well, by the way, I am happy to say. He's 27 years old and huge and healthy and ornery! I buy things from them when I can, but they actually specialize in fish and amphibians and don't carry much in the way of bird supplies, so I use the larger stores or shop online as well.

These stories are so wonderful!!! Keep them coming, PLEASE???

There are currently 5 cats in my house, 3 of mine and 2 of my mom's. At least a couple of them are generally around when Jenna is out of her cage. Although I would never leave her out unsupervised with the cats around, none of them has ever shown any particular interest in her - of course, they WERE used to another parrot, I had an eclectus for 15 years before he died unexpectedly. So I don't worry about them, per se, but I would not be foolish enough to test that and leave her alone with them either.

Oh my gosh, what wonderful news! Poor little baby bird . . . I am thrilled that you found him and he is safely home again

Maybe I missed something, but I think you said Rico screams when you leave the room to go get the mail or to go cook or whatever. Rico is upset because you are leaving. Have you tried talking to Rico before you leave the room and telling him you'll be right back, and/or talking to him from the other room while he can't see you? That might help

She's not your boss any more? Then respond with a hearty laugh when she starts in! She'll stop Hehehe

Just hope she is not as much of an outlaw